| Aaron Burr killed his political rival, Alexander Hamilton, and his credibility as a politician in that duel. Shortly after the duel, Aaron Burr became involved in a plot known as the Burr Conspiracy. After the scheme was discovered by Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr was arrested for treason. Burr was acquitted after a six-month trial on September 1, 1807. |  |
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| A contest sponsored by B and O to build a successful locomotive is won by York foundry man Phineas Davis, who, with Israel Gartner, builds and submits a coal-burning engine named York. Davis wins the $4,000 prize. |  |
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| In spite of a national financial crisis of the time, by February 1840 rails stretched from Bridgeport, CT to New Milford, CT. Almost two years later, in December of 1841, rails reached to Canaan, CT. Ten years later, the railroad had reached into Massachusetts and had forged links with the Western Railroad of Massachusetts, later to become the Boston & Albany RR. |
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| In 1856, the first U.S. patent for the tintype photographic picture process was issued to Professor Hamilton L. Smith of Gambier, Ohio, "For the Use of Japanned Metallic Plates in Photography" to obtain "positive impressions upon a japanned surface previously prepared upon an iron or other metallic plate or sheets; and it consists in the use of collodion and a solution of a salt of silver and an ordinary camera." |
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| Because it was costly to ship gold to the U.S. Mint in San Francisco, a strong demand arose for either a federal mint or an assay office in Idaho. In 1869 Congress appropriated $75,000 to erect a building for a U.S. Assay Office in Boise. Construction on the building began in July of 1870 and required about a year to complete. Its exterior native sandstone walls are more than two feet thick. |
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| Edison was working on a machine that would transcribe telegraphic messages on paper tape, which could later be sent over the telegraph repeatedly. This development led Edison to speculate that a telephone message could also be recorded in a similar fashion. He experimented with an embossing point which was held against moving paraffin paper. The mechanical vibrations arised from speaking made indentations in the paper. Edison later changed the paper to a metal cylinder with tin foil. The machine had two units, one for recording, and one for playback. | |
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| By 1906 Kellogg decided he was ready to form his own cereal business -- the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. Kellogg used extensive and innovative advertising to make his distinctive signature and the Sweetheart of the Corn universally recognizable. To families everywhere, "Kellogg's of Battle Creek" meant cereal. |  |
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| Jim Brady was a bellboy and messenger and then worked for the New York Central RR in various capacities. He later was employed by a railroad supply company, and his selling ability rapidly brought him a fortune. He began collecting diamonds and other jewels and amassed 30 complete sets of jewelry estimated as worth well over $1 million. He was famous for his appetite and elaborate meals and was one of the best-known men in New York's Broadway nightlife. At a dinner party he ate five helpings of roast beef, gallons of stewed fruit, 84 oysters and drank three gallons of orange juice to wash it all down! Burp. |
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| In 1913, small toys were added to each box. In ensuing decades, over seventeen billion prizes have been "awarded" to Cracker Jack purchasers. Among the numerous Cracker Jack prizes offered across the years are miniature plates, puzzles, books, bookmarks, pinball games, plastic figurines, and self-adhesive stickers. The product's logo, consisting of an illustration of a boy named Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo, was introduced during World War I (191418). |
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| Radio stations sold their service to any company or individual who has the price and wants to hire the station for a certain specified time. The program could be a combined advertising and musical program, a Broadway theatrical show or to give their show over the radiophone, as did Ed Wynn and "The Perfect Fool" company at WJZ station, operated by the Westinghouse Company at Newark, N. J., on Sunday, February 19, 1922. |  |
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| When air mail contracts were awarded, many small airlines complained about corruptions and political spoils. On February 19, 1934, President Roosevelt canceled all existing airmail contracts. As a temporary measure, the President directed General Benjamin D. Foulois of the Army Air Corps to organize a new airmail operation that would use military planes and pilots to fly the mail.The change proved disastrous. Army pilots had not been trained for cross-country or bad weather flying, and their aircraft had no landing lights or navigation instruments found in civilian aircraft. During training alone, three pilots were killed. A storm in the first week of operation killed two more pilots, injured six, and destroyed eight planes. |
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| On the West Coast, a hysteria of fear against Japanese Americans as "the Fifth Column" and "the enemy within" was created by inflammatory journalism, pressure groups, politicians, and the U.S. Army. A profound suspicion of Japanese Americans quickly led to cries for their expulsion. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which called for the exclusion and internment of all Japanese Americans from the West Coast--where the majority of Japanese Americans lived, outside of Hawaii. The exclusion and incarceration of Japanese Americans began in March 1942. |
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| Giants OF Danny Gardella becomes the first major leaguer to announce he is jumping to the "outlaw" Mexican League, the first shot in the series of events that will dominate baseball even more than the return of all the war veterans. His attempt to return to the ML a few years later will initiate a major court battle. Pasquel's raids netted 23 ML regulars, most of whom jumped to the Quebec Provincial League in 1948-49, and were reinstated by the majors in June 1949. Struggling financially, Pasquel's league dissolved in 1953. |
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| Evelyn had two number one hits: “A little bird told me,” and “Powder your face with sunshine” and three other top ten hits “Dance with a dolly with a hole in her stockings,” “Chickory chick,” and “Brush those tears from your eyes.” Ahhh... they don’t choose song titles like that anymore. |  |
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| The McGuire Sisters had their first minor hit in 1954 with "Pine Tree, Pine Over Me", in collaboration with Johnny Desmond and Eileen Barton. During the rest of that year they had further successes with their version of the Spaniels' R&B hit "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight", followed by "Muskrat Ramble", "Lonesome Polecat" and "Christmas Alphabet". In 1955 the sisters had their first million-seller with another cover version, "Sincerely', originally recorded by the Moonglows. The McGuires" version stayed at number 1 in the USA for 10 weeks, and accelerated their breakthrough into the big time in clubs, theatres and on television. |
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| Bil Keane's daily single-frame comic strip began chronicling the mild misadventures of a white, middle-class suburban family on February 19, 1960. Keane has reported that the idea for a comic strip poking fun at the foibles of family life occurred to him as early as 1952 while he was still involved in producing "Channel Chuckles," a daily comic which encouraged readers to laugh at the new medium of television. Keane began keeping notes on 3x5 cards of the funny turns of phrase and humorous misunderstandings of his own children until, as he later said, he had "enough material for maybe 50 years. |
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| "The Gypsy Cried," which Christie recorded on two-track in his garage, became a local phenomenon, and was eventually licensed for national release by the Roulette label, peaking at number 24 on the pop charts in 1963. After a two-year stint in the Army, he returned to action in 1966, picking up right where he left off with his biggest hit yet -- the lush, chart-topping "Lightnin' Strikes." |  |
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| Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announced the suspension of Tigers ace Denny McLain, effective April 1st, for McLain's alleged involvement in a bookmaking operation. The suspension will last three months. |  |
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| "Without You" was originally recorded by Badfinger in 1970. It was on their second album, "No Dice." This won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal in 1973. |  |
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| The breakthrough for the band in the US came when they had a No. 1 pop charts hit in early 1977 with Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light." While the Springsteen original from 1973's Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album has a folky, acoustic sound, the Manfred Mann's Earth Band version is driving rock, combining Mann's Moog synthesizer and organ work with, on the album version, a superb guitar solo from Flett. |
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| This was initially released in 1981 on Patti Austin's album "Every Home Should Have One." In the spring of 1982, it peaked at #73 on the US charts. Months later, the song found new life when it was used in the ABC soap opera "General Hospital" for romantic scenes involving Luke Spencer after his wife Laura temporarily left the show. ABC got lots of calls and letters about the song, and Warner Brothers Records decided to re-release this as a single due to popular demand. It hit #1 in the US in the early part of 1983. |
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| Mir was based upon the Salyut series of space stations previously launched by the Soviet Union (seven Salyut space stations had been launched since 1971). It was mainly serviced by Russian-manned Soyuz spacecraft and Progress cargo ships, but it was anticipated that it would also be the destination for flights by the later abandoned Buran space shuttle. The orbiting Mir's purpose was to provide a large and livable scientific laboratory in outer space. |
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| Before he died of lung cancer, Brynner expressed a desire to make an anti-smoking commercial. A clip from an interview from Good Morning America iwas made into just such a commercial by the American Cancer Society, and released after his death. |
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| Castro resigned as president two years after his health forced him to hand over authority to his brother Raul, 76. Castro's era in communist Cuba spanned nearly 50 years, whereas in the United States eight presidents served. |
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1807 Former vice president Aaron
Burr was arrested in Alabama
More ...
1831 First practical US coal-burning locomotive
makes first trial run, Pennsylvania
More ...
1840 Housatonic Railroad opens
More ...
1856 Tin-type camera patented by Hamilton Smith,
Gambier OH
More ...
1869 US Assay Office in Boise ID authorized
More ...
1878 Thomas Alva Edison patents the gramophone
(phonograph)
More ...
1881 Kansas became the first state to prohibit
all alcoholic beverages
1906 W K Kellogg & Charles D Bolin incorporate
Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company
More ...
1910 At a New York dinner party, Diamond Jim Brady
amazed his guests with his appetite
More ...
1913 First prize inserted into a Cracker Jack
box
More ...
1922 Ed Wynn becomes first talent to sign as a
radio entertainer
More ...
1934 US contract air mail service canceled, replaced
by US army for 6 months
More ...
1942 FDR orders detention & internment of
all west-coast Japanese-Americans
More ...
1942 New York Yankees announce 5,000 uniformed
soldiers will be admitted free at each of their upcoming home games
1946 Giants outfielder Danny Gardella jumps to the Mexican
League
More ...
1949 "A Little Bird Told Me" by Evelyn
Knight topped the charts
More ...
1955 "Sincerely" by the McGuire Sisters
topped the charts
More ...
1959 USAF rocket-powered rail sled attains Mach
4.1 (3,088 mph), New Mexico
1960 Bil Keane's "Family Circus" cartoon
strip debuts
More ...
1965 NFL adds 6th official
1966 "Lightnin' Strikes" by Lou Christie
topped the charts
More ...
1970 AL Cy Young winner Denny McLain suspended
for book-making
More ...
1972 "Without You" by Nilsson topped
the charts
More ...
1975 Harris introduced the world's first solid-state
Radio transmitter
1977 "Blinded by the Light" by Manfred
Mann's Earth Band topped the charts
More ...
1983 "Baby, Come to Me" by Patti Austin
& James Ingram topped the charts
More ...
1985 Canned & bottled Cherry Coke introduced
by Coca-Cola
1986 USSR launches Mir space station into Earth
orbit
More ...
1987 Anti-smoking ad airs for first time on TV,
featuring Yul Brynner
More ...
1987 Fidel Castro resigns; younger brother Raul to succeed
More ...